City Attorney Richard Austin said Flint's ordinance calls for all individuals or entities selling scrap metal to obtain a temporary or annual permit.

"It does a lot, with the idea of curbing the problem," said Austin on Flint's ordinance. "It's not just confined to the city of Flint."

Austin pointed out he's prosecuted cases involving copper, metal, aluminum siding and other materials and expressing the larger ramifications of scrapping in communities across Genesee County.

"It's not just the theft that's left behind here," he said. "It's the blighting on the home and neighborhood. This is a problem in the city of Flint, as it is in the city of Burton."

Councilman Dennis O'Keefe agreed with Austin on his assessment of
Flint's ordinance and what could be used in Burton, such as an outright
ban on the sale of aluminum siding.

"I think there's some pretty good things here, but I don't think they're all applicable to our situation," said O'Keefe.

The discussion of an ordinance was urged along in discussions with the deputy planning official, Austin said, as the city of Flint's move could move scrap businesses to move to surrounding communities with fewer restrictions.

"I do think it's a problem that could be discussed regionally, to some extent," he said, while cautioning the talk is just a first step in laying out potential guidelines for what would be covered in an ordinance.